1. Field
A linear compressor and a refrigeration system including a linear compressor are disclosed herein.
2. Background
In general, compressors are machines that receive power from a power generation device, such as an electric motor or turbine, to compress air, a refrigerant, or various working gases, thereby increasing in pressure. Compressors are being widely used in home appliances, such as refrigerators or air conditioners, or industrial fields.
Compressors may be largely classified into reciprocating compressors, in which a compression space into and from which a working gas is suctioned and discharged is defined between a piston and a cylinder to allow the piston to be linearly reciprocated in the cylinder, thereby compressing the working gas; rotary compressors, in which a compression space into and from which a working gas is suctioned or discharged, is defined between a roller that eccentrically rotates and a cylinder to allow the roller to eccentrically rotate along an inner wall of the cylinder, thereby compressing the working gas; and scroll compressors, in which a compression space into and from which a working gas is suctioned and discharged, is defined between an orbiting scroll and a fixed scroll to compress the working gas while the orbiting scroll rotates along the fixed scroll.
A linear compressor according to the related art is disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 10-1307688, which is incorporated herein by reference. The related art linear compressor may suction and compress a working gas, such as a refrigerant, while a piston is linearly reciprocated in a sealed shell by a linear motor and then discharge the refrigerant. The linear motor is configured to allow a permanent magnet to be disposed between an inner stator and an outer stator. The permanent magnet may be linearly reciprocated by a mutual electromagnetic force between the permanent magnet and the inner (or outer) stator. As the permanent magnet operates in a state in which the permanent magnet is connected to the piston, the refrigerant may be suctioned and compressed while the piston is linearly reciprocated within the cylinder, and then, may be discharged.
In the linear compressor, a discharge cover to discharge the refrigerant to a discharge outlet metal-contacts a front surface of the cylinder to compress the cylinder. However, the compression of the cylinder by the discharge cover may cause deformation of an inner wall of the cylinder accommodating the piston.